The world wide HB racing team is extremely proud of the D8 buggy.
It's the logical next step in top level racing machines for Hot
Bodies, and racers around the world have been waiting for the
follow-up to the Lightning 2 Pro Evo. D8 racers, whether they are
directly on our racing team or local club racers, will benefit from
the racing experience of the worldwide HB Off-Road Racing Team
through the latest, top performance setup sheets and state of the
art option parts development. The HB website provides extensive set
up sheets from the latest races and detailed build tips to get the
best performance out of your D8 nitro buggy. Just like the Cyclone
touring car and D4 World Championship Edition buggy, the HB racing
team will constantly develop the car and new options to stay on top
of the competition. This means you will always have access to these
developments and also stay on top of the competition with a
future-proof platform! Off-road racers will also be able to easily
find spares and options - comprehensive parts lists, exploded views
and the power of the world wide HPI/HB logistics system means that
parts will be easy to find and supply will be constant and free of
interruptions for D8 owners around the world.

The World Champ's
Car

Check out Atsushi Hara's car, straight from
the track! Still encrusted with dirt and racing grime from the
legendary drive, this is Hara's actual car, complete with extreme
close-ups.

The D8 starts with a brand new chassis made
from a solid chunk of 4mm thick 7075 aluminium, with 10 degrees of
front kick-up. The chassis plate has angled sides for extreme
stiffness front-to-rear, giving you a solid platform for race
tuning.

You'll notice right away that the
balance of the chassis is shifted from previous HB buggy designs.
The engine is moved far to the centre of the chassis, and the
innovative radio tray shifts the battery from the rear to almost
the very front. Stand-up servo mounting points allow the weight of
modern metal-gear servos to sit as close to the middle and front of
the car as possible. This is just one of the many reasons our team
drivers exclaim the D8 handles better than anything they've ever
seen.

Strong composite chassis braces connect
the front and rear bulkheads to the middle of the chassis for extra
rigidity. Special composite material is used for extreme light
weight, helping to enhance the driving feel, acceleration and
braking of the car.

The engine area features a huge
milled-out area to lower the weight of the engine for a low Centre
of Gravity (CG). Even the area below clutch bell is cut out for
clearance and reduced weight.

Giving the D8 an even lower CG are
special milled-out areas for the standup servo positions. These put
the weight of the servos as close to the ground as possible, for
tremendous corner handling and lightning-sharp reactions on the
track.

The radio tray has many of the
forward-thinking features that racers have come to expect from Hot
Bodies, including moving the weight of the receiver battery ahead
of the engine, just behind the steering servo. The compartments are
sealed from the elements and a switch cover and transponder mount
are included, as well as an innovative super-strong aerial
mount.

Underneath the chassis, there is plenty
of room for a starter box wheel to reach engine flywheel. The
opening is large enough for rocks to work their way out of the
chassis when on the track, and the engine mount screws are recessed
to prevent wear and tear.

Aiding clean-up of the chassis at the
end of the race day is the easily removable radio tray, just a few
screws takes all the electronics out of the chassis to keep fluids
and water away from expensive servos, receiver, etc. We know racers
like to get dirty, but a clean car is a happy car!

The suspension of any racing car is
supremely important, and while most RC racing cars these days have
'good' suspension, it takes something really special to have
'amazing' suspension, and this is where racing knowledge, a
complete racing team, months of testing and a top-notch designer
come in handy. Luckily for the Hot Bodies International Racing
Team, we've got all of these elements in place! In addition to
keeping the car pointed in the right direction, the suspension has
to keep the tyres on the ground as much as possible, so the power
from the engine is transformed into traction on the ground! This is
the job that the D8 suspension must cope with, and we know it's up
to the task.

Let's start with the shocks. The new HB
Big Bore shocks are MASSIVE - at 16mm across, they are some of the
biggest shocks you can find on any racing kit. With rubber boots,
hard-anodized bodies and threaded adjustments, they have all the
standard features you'd expect from any top-level competition kit.
So what's special about them? These are equal-length shocks
front and rear, enhancing the 'weight-forward' design
philosophy of the D8. With the increased oil displacement of
today's off-road racing shocks, the extra length in the rear isn't
necessary is just extra weight. The question shouldn't be 'why are
the rear shocks shorter', the question should be why have we been
dragging all this extra weight around?

Now let's check out the front
suspension. Weight distribution is important for acceleration and
mid-air handling, while the front end is what gets the car pointed
in the right direction. Without a well-designed front end, any race
car is just a mess of parts spinning out of control. The D8 is no
exception, and the front suspension features a long list of
features, including the HB Inverse Steering Block Design,
adjustable roll centre, thick turnbuckle links, aligned king pin
and universal joint pivots, sway bar, steel turnbuckles and HB's
own counter-rotating shock mount screws.

Power is nothing without control, a
famous advertisement once said, and this is especially true when
you're striving to hit the big A-Final. Having confidence in your
steering system is so important when you're wheel-to-wheel with 13
other drivers, all going for the same apex. This is when the D8
reigns supreme, and you'll be trusting the thick anodized aluminium
steering bar and thick steel turnbuckles to guide you through the
mess. Steel screws, locking nuts and sturdy nylon steering arms and
turnbuckle links complete the steering. A hand-adjustable servo
saver provides extra peace of mind for your steering servo, and
four sealed ball bearings let the steering glide effortlessly in
the muckiest of conditions.

Another Hot Bodies innovation are the
solid suspension arms, which prevent mud and rocks from slowing you
down on those inevitable wet race days! The exact compound of
composite material used is a Team HB secret, and was developed over
months of testing in wet and dry conditions. Each suspension arm
also features handy travel-limiting droop screws to allow you extra
tuning ability when you're up against the clock and the
competition.

The suspension mounts front and rear are
machined from sturdy aluminium and anodized to match the chassis
and steering plate. A steel screw and washer hold the suspension
hinge pins firmly in place so you don't have to worry about them
falling out on the track.

As dedicated racers oursleves, we're
still shocked when we see top racing cars still shipping with
e-clips in place - rest assured there are no e-clips anywhere in
the suspension of the D8!

Getting the power from the engine to the
tyres is yet another job that any good race car must be able to
perform properly. Getting as much power as possible with a minimum
of loss or drag is just as important as keeping the tyres in
contact with the ground, which is the job of the suspension. The D8
features every detail you'd expect to see in a top-level
competition car, and more, when it comes to the drivetrain.

Continuing the rugged reliability of
past Hot Bodies nitro buggies and truggies, the D8 uses spiral-cut
'worm gear' diffs to get the power from the driveshafts to the
wheels. A spiral cut is more reliable and much stronger than
standard straight-cut gears, giving you extra confidence and fewer
maintenance headaches. You can adjust the diff action with thicker
or thinner oils because all three diffs are sealed against leakage,
giving you a fantastic boost of tuning ability!

Six steel universal dogbones are used
for the centre driveshafts and at each corner to get the power from
the middle diff to front and rear diffs, and also from the diffs to
the wheels. Spinning on rubber-sealed bearings, the axles are
hollow for low rotating mass and the wheels rest on black-anodized
17mm aluminium hex hubs.

Controlled braking ability is provided
by the front and rear, individually adjustable brakes. Constructed
of thick fibre and drilled for low rotating mass and extra cooling
ability, the brakes are extremely powerful without being too
'grabby'.

There's nothing worse than skidding
through a corner with no control, so the brakes can be adjusted
separately front and rear using the unique brake linkage that
brings the adjustment linkage of both brakes above the middle block
deck. This is just one more 'why hasn't anyone else done this
before?' feature that Hot Bodies is proud to bring racers!

In addition to a full suite of
rubber-sealed ball bearings throughout the car, the clutch features
new extra-large 5x11mm bearings for longer clutch life and extra
durability. Everything in the drivetrain has been maximised for
efficiency and long life!

The large fuel tank is just the size
needed for pro racing, and is mounted on o-rings to keep the fuel
from excessive foaming. Large baffles inside the tank keep the fuel
intake guzzling nitro when the car's going through the rough stuff,
and a strong sealed cap snaps into place after pit stops thanks to
a stiff return spring. Handy fuel tube guides help keep everything
nice and tidy!

The unique feature of the D8 fuel tank
is the 'clunk' inside it, which allows the engine to keep running
while the car is flipped over. There's absolutely nothing more
frustrating than qualifying well and getting put on your lid when
going through the first corner - unless you're talking about a lazy
turn marshall who doesn't see your car with its wheels in the
air!

Included with the kit are new Team HB
wheels that are the maximum legal dimensions allowed by IFMAR and
EFRA dimensions. Tyres are not included with the kit so you can
dial in the D8 to your local track or club.